Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo with his host regional President Abdiweli Gaas made a colourful procession of a motorcade on his way to the port city of Bossaaso on day 5 of his official tour of the northeastern state of Puntland.
The motorcade was flanked by horsemen as he left Qardho, the seat of the region’s Sultan, on his way to Armo where he made a stopover at one of Somalia’s biggest police training academies.
As the motorcade snaked through the mountainous landscape of the region, hundreds of residents came out to greet the President with songs of praises and waving green leaves symbolizing peace.
“We are highly welcoming our President Mohamed Farmajo. We were waiting for him and we are happy with his arrival. We stand by him. He is a hero” said Nasri Yussuf.
The President accompanied by a delegation of Federal Ministers and MPs addressed residents at several stopovers.
In a region that has recently been dealing with an insurgency from both militant group Alshabaab and Pro Islamic State elements, security has been beefed up in Bossaaso ahead of Farmaajo’s arrival.
